End of Unit Evaluation
For my Final Major project, I wanted to challenge myself to work in a creative field I never explored before which is Video Making. Through a series of inspiration sources and several online and books research I was able to achieve my initial aim of producing an animated video. I undertook many experimental trials as well as practicing with different mediums and techniques that helped gain new skills as a designer. Working on something personal and very close to my culture and home country has helped as well and made me confident on following my design decisions. Talking to peers and getting feedback has had a strong impact on my work which made me capable to be critical and achieve something I am content with.
Looking back at it, my project has gone through various changes. Initially I was drawn towards developing a series of hand drawn animated scenes. I wanted to show through animations how Italian hand gestures are used in different contexts, specifically, in daily scenarios. After many digital trials I decided to undertake a different route as I was not fully convinced on how the videos were coming out visually wise. Another factor that made me change my mind on the direction I was taking was time management. I realized that making an entire animation within the weeks I had left would have been too time consuming and wouldn’t have allowed me to produce a high standard outcome as I had firstly planned to produce. I am glad to have moved onto developing another concept that allowed me to still work on the same theme of Italian hand gestures but in a different, yet unique way. Since Uni was closed for several weeks in correspondence to the start of the Unit and considering that I changed my ideas a few times, I believe I managed my time as best as I could. As this was my last project, I had a high amount of work to produce, but despite this, I managed to finish everything on time.
The weeks extension we have been given have been extremely advantageous for my practice. This extra time allowed me to refine my final outcomes and add extra details that made me satisfied with the video and supporting work I produced. Overall, I believe I respected the time plan I set out at the beginning of project.I feel that I have responded to the feedback I received well. There were times where the feedback I got was not totally clear at first but after discussing it over following tutorials, it became clearer. I received very good advice that helped my creative process immensely. Specifically, the group tutorials I attended have been extremely helpful for my practice. Hearing different opinions from peers and tutors has helped me decide what direction I wanted to take for my project as well considering diverse approaches of interpreting an idea.
Overall, the feedback I received has been very useful for my project development and helped me see aspects of my work more critically.My practice mainly consists of digital illustration and the use of traditional materials. However, this time was different. I wanted to work on moving images to showcase my newly acquired editing skills into my professional portfolio. As it was my first time producing a professional animation, I am sure more practice in video editing and animation would have possibly improved my final outcome. Editing the final video was quite challenging as I had to research techniques on how to add effects, sound and text on an animated video. I can confirm that editing software can be quite difficult to use as there are several buttons and features to consider and constantly check. However, according to the fact that it was my first time making an animation, that I didn’t have a lot of time and that unfortunately there were a series of Uni Covid 19 guidelines to follow, I am highly satisfied with how my outcome and supporting work have turned out.
I would love to push my video making further and produce more short films/animations in future projects. This project has thought me a lot and helped me acquire new skills and knowledge I will showcase in my professional portfolio with the intention of launching myself as a professional in the creative industries. Working at a fast-paced rate made me aware of how time management is essential, especially for a designer who must always keep track of deadlines and the quality of work. I learnt how to edit videos and how to create animations which I am proud of as video making skills are highly required in the contemporary creative industry. Through research and project development I challenged myself to be more critical and to experiment in different design areas as well as testing out various ideas in order to finally come up with the best solutions.
Overall, I am content with how the outcome turned out. I believe I delivered a good final project coherent to my initial goal. In my opinion, the short, animated video I realized expresses my idea in a simple, yet clear and fun way. Hopefully, the viewer will understand how those Italian hand gestures are used in different scenarios. Working with my sister has been exciting and an essential part of my project as she is the main “actress” of the video. I believe she delivered an exceptional interpretation of Italian ways of communication which I am very proud of. The use of Italian and English subtitles makes the comprehension of the video easy for non-Italian speakers. Furthermore, the bright hands’ outlines, the flashy effects and rhythmic background tune, make altogether, an expressive and fun video that serves for its main purpose; to celebrate Italian lifestyle and teach non- Italian speakers about it. I am content with the result I achieved, although I could have possibly added a few more effects and clips to make it longer. Despite this, I am generally highly satisfied with how the edited video looks and what it shows.